MoveOn members demand Congress Close the Camps

Every day immigrants are suffering from intentional inhumane conditions created by the Trump administration.

News continues to pour out that the Trump administration’s escalation of brutal attacks against immigrants and refugees has reached new, even more horrific lows, with children being held in unspeakable conditions in concentration camps at the border. Just yesterday, more images and stories emerged about the horrific conditions that children and families are enduring.

In a powerful response, tens of thousands of MoveOn members and our allies took to the streets yesterday to demand our members of Congress act to close the camps. 

Tens of thousands of people like you—members of MoveOn, United We Dream, Families Belong Together, and American Friends Service Committee, along with more than 50 sponsor organizations—held over 175 protests in over 40 states. And more than 800 letters were hand-delivered to members of Congress, ensuring they received our demands and feel the pressure to act.

Together, we held over 175 protests on July 2.

Our message was heard around the world—and in the home districts of our representatives and senators.

These Close the Camps protests have changed the way our entire country is talking about the atrocities being committed on our southern border. More than 1,500 local news clips broadcasted our demand to close the camps and to establish an immigration system that uplifts the human rights of all people. Together, we are ensuring that our message cannot be ignored.

We are powerful when we act together, and our work is just beginning.

Congress is already debating funding levels of these agencies for next year, and one of the most important ways to hold these agencies accountable is to stop giving them money to commit human rights violations. That means we need to keep up the pressure on our members of Congress to make sure that they don’t give in to Donald Trump and the Republicans in September, before government funding runs out on September 30.

We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. Here’s what’s next and how you can take action: 

1. Call your members of Congress. Whether you went to a local protest yesterday or not, dial (844) 899-8261 now to call your representative, and then dial (855) 300-3836 to call your senators. Say to them, “Close the camps, stop funding family detention and deportation, bear witness and reunite families.”

2. Contribute to ensure that everyone in detention has legal representation, so they don’t have to face an immigration judge alone. Donate to the Texas Civil Rights Project, an organization that is providing free legal services to immigrants in detention. Click here to contribute now.

3. Sign the petition to say Congress must close the camps! Add your name now.

4. Protest or visit a detention center and shine a light on what’s happening in our communities. Download United We Dream’s resource now.

5. Join a Summer Service Social to connect with MoveOn members in your neighborhood, give back to your community, and build the strong bonds needed to make lasting change. If you don’t see a Summer Service Social event scheduled in your community yet, sign up to host one. Click here to find or host a Summer Service Social near you.

Since the 2016 election, MoveOn members have consistently risen up to stop the worst of Trump’s policies. Just one year ago, along with close partners and allies, we organized historic rallies that led to an end of Trump’s cruel family separation policy.

Now, we must continue to act to stop each escalation of violence and cruelty from this administration. Together, we will create an America that welcomes and treats all people with dignity and respect.

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